of television fame back in the U.K. with the buzzword-loving political spinmeister Stewart Pearson in Armando Iannucci's political satire In the Thick of It, based on him.



Hilton faces a tough challenge in his bid to stop Becerra - in addition to having the backing of Donald Trump in a frequently anti-Trump state, Hilton also must defy partisan gravity. A Republican has not won the governorship since Arnold Schwarzenegger last did it in 2006 - in fact, a Republican has failed to reach 41% of the vote count since that time.



Hilton will seek to build a campaign on exactly that fact, arguing that California's challenges stem from longtime Democratic dominance; during the primary, he hit that note hard, keying on the eight-year reign of Democrat Gavin Newsom (who is term-limited). Certainly Hilton's policies differ sharply even from a moderate Democrat like Becerra - he favors lowering taxes, lowering regulations and even building low-density housing to solve the state's housing crisis.



Hilton also has distinguished himself on the Hollywood front, promising a major entertainment tax-credit program of as much as 60% per project with no annual cap and both below-the-line and postproduction eligibility. Becerra has taken a far more measured approach, though whether that will sway many Democratic entertainment workers to jump parties remains to be seen. Becerra also has a lot more electoral experience, having won 14 elections in California (many cakewalks as a Congressman).



Whoever wins can take solace in the likelihood they'll be in the job for a while. In a California electoral peculiarity, every single governor since 1942 has served more than one term.